Process and Job Design

Processes systematically move information around the organization. ProWright defines every process and its associated jobs in the context of the larger organization and its objectives. We identify interorganizational linkages to prevent disconnects and give workers downstream assurances that the work products they receive will meet their requirements.

Representative projects

• Big 5 Systems Integration Process For the CIO of a Big 5 firm, ProWright helped design an Integration Process (IP) for developing the firm's internal technology solutions. The IP's goal was to ensure the reliability of handoffs downstream and coordinate efforts and deliverables of otherwise independently operating project teams. The IP detailed the work of over a dozen technical and management functions interfacing with each other throughout various stages of a systems development effort, from feasibility and requirements analysis through architecture design, build management, program development, testing, and implementation. ProWright then trained more than a dozen technical and management teams (over 200 workers) to coordinate their efforts using the new IP, whose use is now being measured for expected improvements in productivity and quality.

• Merger Support for Insurance Property and Casualty Giant For the merged new company of two leading property and casualty firms, ProWright developed the conversion processes and conducted training for operations teams managing the conversion in regional centers. In addition, we defined the new business processes for all commercial and personal lines products offered by both companies. We designed a complementary rollout program for regional experts who will then implement the new processes and systems in their respective regions. ProWright teams also designed a web-based application for use by H/R managers and supervisors in developing employees. All ProWright deliverables will enable the client to process new business in a new systems environment and prepare for rapid conversion of subsequently acquired firms.

• Leveraged Purchasing Process ProWright helped a major bank design a purchasing process that leveraged its $5 billion in annual spending. The process defined the RFP, selection, and implementation processes, integrating the activities of the bank's attorney's, financial analysts, and various commodity and service specialists. We then developed "success transfer kits" that were used by US-based commodity specialists to train overseas units to implement comparable programs internationally.

• Pharmaceuticals Compliance Program After a combined Big 5 consulting-audit team was unsuccessful in defining VA pricing processes for a pharmaceuticals client facing a Federal audit, they recruited ProWright to help. We subsequently led a team that included the client's legal counsel and contract administration managers, as well as Big 5 systems analysts, in analyzing and drilling down the pricing, reporting, and change management processes. We identified missing system, financial, and operational controls; spotted disconnects with established policies, and determined critical system and functional linkages. ProWright ultimately delivered in 7 weeks what the prior team couldn't do in 4 months—a comprehensive audit-readiness program that enabled the client to pass the audit and that was lauded by the government auditor as "setting an industry standard."

• Process Definition for a Federal Agency In an ongoing project, ProWright has conducted a baseline analysis of a critical document development and publication process for the Agency. Together with another vendor, ProWright is now selecting tools and redesigning the process for the organization to achieve a more efficient process and publish effectively to a variety of media.

• National Technology Support Function When a Big 5 firm reorganized its independent practices into a national operation, the CIO needed to create a parallel function for technology support. In less than 8 weeks, ProWright helped IS management teams define over 70 processes for the new National Support Center and its regional units. We also developed an intranet and training program to roll the processes out nationally.

• Knowledge Management Process ProWright help a Big 5 Chief Knowledge Officer (CKO) and his team design a strategy and process for identifying and categorizing the firm's knowledge assets and publishing them to an online database. With delivery via intranet, the system enabled the firm's partners and consultants to access information, leverage work products and learning, and otherwise manage knowledge assets across firm practices.

• Technology Service-Level Agreements When the Data Center of a Big 5 firm needed to gain control of its commitments on supporting applications belonging to the firm's practices, ProWright developed a model Service Level Agreement (SLA), along with a process and online forms for the practices' use in providing information about submitted applications, including storage and processor requirements, Y2K compliance, and expected usage.

ProWright Consulting, Inc., 26 Park Street, Montclair, NJ 07042. Tel: 973-746-0500; Fax: 973-509-7339.